Two labourers died of asphyxiation while digging a well at Police Referral Hospital, Chumukedima, Monday.According to police, the labourers had been digging the well since the last two weeks and had already dug about 80 feet when one of the labourers suddenly collapsed inside the well after a foul smelling poisonous gas started emanating. Another labourer who tried to rescue his friend also met with the same fate. Army, police and home gaurds personnel retrieved the bodies by lowering an army volunteer using a customized breathing apparatus, police said.The deceased have been identified as Mutalik and Tahir Ali, both residents of Chekiye village, Dimapur.